2018 Winter Olympics: Week 1 highlights

David Moore

Sports Blogger

@rundavidmoore

Shaun White reclaims halfpipe glory

Shaun White is the first man in Winter Olympic history to win three gold medals in snowboarding. White won an exhilarating contest on the halfpipe on Wednesday in Pyeongchang. White, a San Diego native, had a fantastic first run, scoring a 94.25 and throwing his helmet into the crowd. Japanese snowboarder Ayumu Hirano replied with a 95.25 on his second run, though. On his final run, White put the nail in the coffin with back-to-back 1440s, knocking Hirano out of the top spot. This also marks the 100th all-time gold medal the United States has won in the Winter Olympics.

Young athletes Gerard, Kim shine for Team USA

Red Gerard secured the United States’ first gold medal on Sunday in men’s snowboard slopestyle. Similar to Shaun White, Gerard, a 17-year-old Colorado native, saved his best for his final run. Gerard jumped from last place to first place with a score of 87.16 on his fantastic last run.

Andy Miah/Flickr

Chloe Kim also claimed Olympic glory on Sunday. Kim, a young star from Los Angeles, entered her first Olympics with an impressive resume, including golds in previous X Games and golds in the 2016 Winter Youth Olympics in snowboarding slopestyle and freestyle. She had a flying start with a 93.75 on her first run and sealed the deal with a near-perfect 98.25 final run. At just 17, she is already one of the world’s elite snowboarders.

Medal count

Germany leads the medal count, as it’s racked up nine gold medals and 17 total medals. In second place, Norway has accounted for seven gold medals with 22 total. The Netherlands is in third with six golds and 13 total. The United States has five gold medals and nine total medals.